Original Article 07/30/2010 By Lenore Skenazy Hey Readers - Here's a comment that came in the other day in response to a woman who is very wary of stranger danger. I liked its logic: Dear Amy (the woman who was consumed with predator fear): I can sort of see where you're coming from, but take a logical approach. There's a chance for something bad to happen in cars and buses, which people use on a daily basis. And there's also something dangerous that could happen with almost everything you do in life. Some Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:46 am

Original Article 07/29/2010 By Brad Woodard HOUSTON - The reality of impending freedom after being imprisoned 27 years for a rape he did not commit proved to be too much for a Houston man, and his emotional and angry reaction to the situation prompted attorneys and a judge to delay his release by one day. [name withheld] was expected to be granted a bond during a court hearing Thursday. The move came after the Harris County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday announced that new DNA tests showed [name Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:38 am

Hi members! I want to thank you all for your support and comments made regarding the interview with Kelly and Mark Lunsford on Monday. I am absolutely convinced that your comments and response by calling in and the overwhelming response of comments on YouTube sparked the media to give this story a second look. That's right...we will be on Fox again! Kelly will appear on the Mike Huckabee show Tuesday, August 3 at 2:00 p.m. He will be discussing the same topic regarding Georgia easing restrictions on sex Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 6:11 pm

At long last, it appears the BigLaw job market might finally be showing signs of a serious thaw. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:57 am

The dust from Phoenix federal judge Susan Bolton's immigration ruling continues to settle, and the nation's scribes continue to try to make sense of it. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:53 am

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the SEC charged the Wylys with hiding $550 million in trading profits by using an "elaborate sham system" of offshore entities. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:14 am

Below is the trailer for Conviction, scheduled to be released in October 2010. The movie tells the story of Betty Ann Waters: On May 12, 1983, Kenneth Waters was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder for the death of an Ayer, Massachusetts woman. He was sentenced to life in prison based... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 2:00 am

Bruce Bartlett (The Fiscal Times), Keep the Tax Cuts for Now: Congress could have used the expiration of the Bush tax cuts to reform the tax system, but extending the tax cuts may be the only viable option for now. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:20 am

Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:05 am

Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:37 am

Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:14 am

Brannon P. Denning (Cumberland School of Law), Marcia L. McCormick (Saint Louis University - School of Law), & Jeffrey M. Lipshaw (Suffolk University Law School) have posted Becoming a Law Professor: A Candidate's Guide on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This is the Table of Contents and the Introduction to a forthcoming book from the American Bar Association. The authors provide detailed advice and resources for aspiring law professors, including a description of the categories of law faculty (and what Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:06 am

Malla Pollack has posted Reclassifying Reverse Passing Off as Failure to Contract or as False Advertising (Boston University Journal of Science and Technology Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The tort of reverse passing off should be abolished. This conclusion stems from a combination of economic analysis, recognition of the disparate foundations of trade identity law versus creativity law (such as copyright and patent), realistic appraisal of product distribution, and an updated survey of Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:33 am

Karla Mari McKanders (University of Tennessee College of Law) has posted Sustaining Tiered Personhood: Jim Crow and Anti-Immigrant Laws (Harvard Journal of Racial and Ethnic Justice, Vol. 26, p. 163, 2010) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Latino immigrants are moving to areas of the country that have not seen a major influx of immigrants. As a result of this influx, citizens of these formerly homogenous communities have become increasingly critical of federal immigration law. State and local legislatures are Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm

"Male Employees' Sex Harassment Case Settles Before Full 11th Circuit Rules": law.com has this report. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:12 am

"In Wake of 'Heller,' 3rd Circuit OKs Ban on Unnumbered Guns": Shannon P. Duffy will have this article Friday in The Legal Intelligencer. You can access today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link. Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 8:50 pm

"Judge OKs Law Requiring Pornographers to Keep Age Records": In today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Shannon P. Duffy has an article that begins, "A federal judge has refused to strike down recent amendments to the federal Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act that require photographers and filmmakers -- both professional and amateur -- to maintain records that verify the age and identity of anyone depicted in a sexually explicit film or photograph." Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 6:02 am

The New York Times report from yesterday's paper was, "Congress Moves to Narrow Cocaine Sentencing Disparity," written by Erik Ekholm. The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would reduce the disparities between mandatory federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine violations, a step toward ending what legal experts say have been unfairly harsh punishments imposed mainly on blacks. The bill, which passed the Senate in March, was adopted by the House in a voice vote and now goes to Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:19 pm

We have several different reports examining the sad state of the U.S. Senate confirmation process for federal judicial vacancies. The Center for American Progress memo is titled, "Falling Off a Cliff: Judicial Confirmation Rates Have Nosedived in the Obama Presidency." It was prepared by CAP policy analyst Ian Millhiser. Judicial confirmations slowed to a trickle on the day President Barack Obama took office. Filibusters, anonymous holds, and other obstructionary tactics have become the rule. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:59 am

Judge Keller's Petition for Writ of Mandamus and her motion to stay certain time limits in the case are at the links. The Austin Chronicle reports, "Judge Sharon Keller wants her rebuke voided." It's written by Chuck Lindell. Claiming that she was improperly reprimanded for her role in a botched execution-day appeal in 2007, Judge Sharon Keller asked the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday to throw out the rebuke and order all charges against her dismissed. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:53 am

DiNapoli: State Dental Insurer Overcharged by $1.6 Million Group Health Incorporated (GHI), the administrator for New York State's dental benefits plan, paid about $1.6 million in questionable claims by dentists for scaling and root planing procedures, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. This represented nearly one-third of the amount GHI paid dentists for this procedure over the four-year period audited. "Scaling and root planing are painful enough for Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:00 am

BED BUGS A GO-GO Check out the New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board's "Recommendations for the Management of Bed Bugs in New York City." The report offers a general overview of New York's bed bug infestation, and provides comprehensive recommendations on topics ranging from prevention and treatment of infestations, to methods to track and report bed bug problems. The report can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35012093/Bedbug-Battle-Plan Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:30 am

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION OF LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY FOR DEFRAUDING MILITARY FAMILIES AND OTHERS OF MILLIONS IN CASH PAYOUTS Subpoenas Served on Prudential Financial, Inc. and MetLife, Inc.; Entire Industry Under Investigation ~Insurers Appear to Have Reaped Hundreds of Millions in Secret Profits While Misleading Families into Putting Benefits into Insurer Controlled, Low Yield, Potentially Risky Accounts Yesterday, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced his office has launched a Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:00 am

NOTE TO READERS: The following is an update on a post published earlier Friday. ------ The Ninth Circuit Court refused on Friday to put the constitutional test over Arizona's authority to control illegal aliens living within its borders on the especially fast schedule that the state had asked, adopting instead a plan that follows its normal pace for handling cases of this kind. A panel of the Court refused to "expedite the appeal beyond" what Circuit Court rules specified, thus agreeing with the Justice Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:41 pm

In a rare commentary by a member of the Supreme Court on Senate hearings for a potential colleague, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday sought to correct the views of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who recently suggested that foreign law has no place in America's legal principles. In a speech at American University in Washington (the full text is here), Ginsburg said flatly that it is "very wrong…to charge that citing foreign law is a recent heresy advanced by liberal activist judges in pursuit Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:19 pm

Coverage continues of Senate Democrats' failure to block a Republican filibuster of the DISCLOSE Act, a legislative response to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. At ACSblog, Jeffrey D. Clements discusses the filibuster of the Act, lamenting that "a minority of Senators representing a fraction of the American people killed even the modest response of requiring reporting and disclosure of corporate political spending, and restricting such spending by certain foreign corporations and government Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:24 am

Congratulations to Brannon P. Denning (Cumberland School of Law), our own Marcia McCormick (Saint Louis University - School of Law), and Jeffrey M. Lipshaw (Suffolk University Law School) on the publication of their new book: Becoming a Law Professor: A... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Miriam A. Cherry (McGeorge; visiting St. Louis U. 2010-11) has just posted on SSRN her article (forthcoming Georgia L. Rev.) A Taxonomy of Virtual Work. Here's the abstract:Millions of people worldwide entertain themselves or supplement their incomes - or both... Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 5:39 am

You might recall that we posted back in March about healthcare reform amendments to the FLSA that require covered employers to provide lactation breaks and space for non-exempt employees who are nursing. The DOL has now issued a fact sheet... Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 7:00 am

Before entering the academy, I had a job with heavy travel demands. The travel forced me to write documents in airports, on airplanes, in hotels, hotel lobbies, windowless conference rooms, in cabs, in parking lots, on trains, the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry (too windy on top deck), coffee shops, and yes, even in a bar. I even wrote the first half of a presentation at a Texas Rangers game until the client arrived with his family. Unfortunately, I think these work habits have rendered it difficult for me Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:20 pm

A document I recently saw for the first time really opened my eyes to the amount of trafficking in Nazi-looted art into U.S. museums. It was a report completed by art historian Laurie A. Stein that was mentioned in the final report of the Bergier Commission, an Independent Commission of Experts established by the Swiss Parliament to study the role of Switzerland in trafficking during World War II. The Bergier Report came out in March 2002. To my knowledge, Ms. Stein's report has never been published, but Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:15 am

For all aspiring prawfs (and those interested in their success), check out The New Realities of the Legal Academy, which Larry Solum has just put up on SSRN. The paper is the preface to a book I've read and enjoyed in manuscript, and recommend to students of mine interested in joining the legal academy. Here is Larry's abstract: This short paper is the Foreword to Brannon P. Denning, Marcia L. McCormick, and Jeffrey M. Lipshaw, Becoming a Law Professor: A Candidate's Guide, American Bar Association, Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:36 am

A new CNN poll (Download Cnn pool) (page 5) reveals that 81% of those polled "Creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to stay here and apply to... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:17 pm

Floating around the internet is an internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services draft memorandum -- aparrently alleged in some consrevative circles as confirming that the administration is contemplating some kind of administrative "amnesty" for "illegals" -- on "Administrative Alternatives to... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:57 am

***Press and Public Conference Call: Wednesday, August 4th at 2:00 PM EDT*** International Leaders Join Our 8th CfCIR Call, to Applaud the Partial Injunction of SB 1070 and to Discuss Comprehensive Immigration Reform Washington, DC/Mexico/Guatemala, Wednesday, August 4th at 2:00... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 10:36 am

(Jonathan H. Adler) A few more thoughts on Judge Bolton's ruling in the Arizona immigration case. As noted below, on Wednesday Judge Bolton issued a preliminary injunction blocking several key provisions of Arizona's law from taking effect on the grounds that the federal government is likely to succeed in arguing that some of its provisions (but not others) are preempted by federal law. Arizona will appeal. As Orin noted, Bolton held these provisions are preempted by federal law, not that Arizona's law is Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 10:12 am

(Eugene Volokh) Yesterday I heard about President Obama's National Urban League speech on NPR, and one particular item struck me. (I'm sure it's not the most important item, but it's just the one about which I have something to say.): We should all make more of an effort to discuss with one another, in a truthful and mature and responsible way, the divides that still exist - the discrimination that's still out there, the prejudices that still hold us back - a discussion that needs to take place not on cable Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:10 am

(Kenneth Anderson) More or less. The Anderson family is out west at the moment, combining some college visits for our daughter with a little bit - a far too little bit - of hiking in the Sierra Nevada, up out of Bishop on the eastern side, on God's finest highway, Highway 395. Daughter will do some climbing with the fine folks at Sierra Mountain Center, probably a quick half day up Crystal Crag, and Jean-Marie and I will do something very easy, as we have no time this trip, probably just a few hour round Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:29 am

In the wake of strong U.S. government statements condemning WikiLeaks' recent publishing of 77,000 Afghan War documents, the secret-spilling site has posted a mysterious encrypted file labeled "insurance." The huge file, posted on the Afghan War page at the WikiLeaks site, is 1.4 GB and is encrypted with AES256. The file's size dwarfs the size of all the other files on the page combined. The file has also been posted on a torrent download site as well. WikiLeaks, on Sunday, posted several files containing Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:09 pm

An Army private suspected of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks was admonished as a trainee in 2008 for uploading YouTube videos discussing classified facilities, according to an Army official with direct knowledge of the incident. Bradley Manning, now 22, was three months into his 16 weeks of training as an intelligence analyst when about 25 of his fellow students got together to report him for the videos in July 2008, says the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Manning, who enlisted Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:28 pm

LAS VEGAS - Attribution is one of the biggest problems on the internet when it comes to cyberwarfare. How do you hold a nation responsible for malicious attacks if you can't determine whether the activity was state-sponsored? Retired General Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency, said Thursday that one solution being discussed in government is to simply forget about trying to determine if the source of an attack is state-sponsored and hold nations responsible for malicious activity Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 12:52 pm

TORT REPORT - CIVIL, TORTS, INSURANCE CASES. COA 2010 Minutes July 16, 2010 (Nos. 673-701) PUBLISHED DECISIONS. 673. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE; EMTLA THOMAS (LARRY O'NEIL) VS. ST. JOSEPH HEALTHCARE, INC. OPINION AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART AND REMANDING IN PART WINE (PRESIDING JUDGE) CLAYTON (CONCURS) AND DIXON (CONCURS) 2007-CA-001192-MR 2007-CA-001244-MR TO BE PUBLISHED FAYETTE WINE, JUDGE: In our prior opinion, we set out the facts of this case as follows: The parties vigorously disagree about the Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:42 am

COA 2010 Minutes July 16, 2010 (Nos. 673-701) Above link to minutes is full text of minutes with link to full text of each decision. Total number of decisions: 29 Published Decisions: 9 (673, 677, 683, 684, 685, 686, 692, 692, 698) PUBLISHED DECISIONS WITH SHORT SYNOPSIS AND LINK TO FULL TEXT OF EACH: 673. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE; EMTLA THOMAS (LARRY O'NEIL) VS. ST. JOSEPH HEALTHCARE, INC. OPINION AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART AND REMANDING IN PART WINE (PRESIDING JUDGE) CLAYTON (CONCURS) AND DIXON Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 6:34 pm

COA 2010 Minutes July 9, 2010 (Nos. 657-672) Above link to minutes is full text of minutes with link to full text of each decision. Total number of decisions: 16 Published Decisions: 2 (658, 661) Tort Decisions: 661, 662, Workers Comp: 671 PUBLISHED CASES: 658. CRIMINAL. 11.42 ROACH (TERRY WAYNE) VS. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY OPINION AFFIRMING ACREE (PRESIDING JUDGE) CAPERTON (CONCURS) AND KELLER (CONCURS) 2008-CA-001961-MR TO BE PUBLISHED MCCRACKEN ACREE, JUDGE: Terry Roach appeals the order of the Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 4:57 am

Remember the San Marcos cop who an arbitrator reinstated after he was fired for lying and excessive force? Well he's back in uniform, but the Hays County District Attorney says he's no longer a credible witness and shouldn't be assigned to police work. Reports Patrick George at the Austin Statesman: A San Marcos Police Department terminated for not being truthful on two occasions and a use-of-force violation remains back on the force, but is effectively unable to perform police duties after a decision by Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:53 am

No favor done for Judge Sharon Keller, apparently goes unpunished. I described last week how the State Judicial Conduct Commission afforded her special treatment by applying a sanction more lenient than the ones seemingly required under the Texas Constitution. The given reason: If they'd gone with the harsher, constitutional penalty, Keller could not later sit as a visiting judge after she leaves office. To thank them for that leniency, Keller's lawyer filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:16 am

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has announced a upcoming event that may interest Grits readers: POLICY PRIMER - The Future of Juvenile Parole and Re-entry August 12th, 2010 How can Texas enhance its approach to parole and reentry to break the cycle of youth crime so there are fewer victims and taxpayers pay less to re-incarcerate the same youths? Featuring: * The Honorable Jim McReynolds Chairman, House Corrections Committee * The Honorable Robert Eckels Former Harris County Judge * Cheryln Townsend Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 2:41 pm

In Galesville, Wisconsin. blog advertising blog advertising Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:45 am

"I'm going to blog and then do something else on top of that and I don't know what the something else is going to be and I don't know where my blog will be." blog advertising blog advertising Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:38 am

Hyperventilates Rebecca Traister about the way other people are hyperventilating. I don't mean to be the Matrimony Grinch. Weddings are joyful and great. What they are not is the apotheosis of the human, the romantic or, more pointedly, the female experience. Oh? Why not? There are a lot of people who don't get married. There are a lot of people who can't get married.... The fevered fetishization of the marital day is not just irritating, it's destructive. It reproduces attitudes about personal -- and Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:11 am

First line in an AP story: Bedbugs are spreading at an unprecedented rate in New York City, and officials on Wednesday [July 28] announced the start of a plan to battle the infestation... Meanwhile, Obama's EPA is clueless... See http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2010/06/epa-screws-up-on-propoxur.html One can have the best invention, but if Federal regulators won't approve it... Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 9:29 am

MSNBC did a story on Jonathan Nyce on 25 July 2010. Nyce is blaming the gardener Enyo: The man who jonathan nyce is targeting as michelle's killer is the family landscaper, enyo, who nyce claims stalked michelle, tried to extort money from the nyce family, and who police neglected to arrest at the time of the alleged stalking. Enyo, a native of puerto rico, could not be reached for comment. Previously: http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2009/02/something-in-nyce-matter.html Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 8:49 am

Oracle seems to be trying to escape ED Texas: Oracle Corporation (Oracle) submits a petition for a writ of mandamus to direct the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to (1) rule on Oracle's motion for reconsideration of the December 8, 2009 order denying Oracle's motion to transfer, (2) vacate the December 8, 2009 order, and (3) direct transfer to the United States District Court for the Northern District ofCalifornia. This "interaction" seems to have been going on for a long Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 6:46 am

First they came for the birthday card . . . (fp) Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:37 am

Neutrality, signaling and exposé are the tonics served up on executive compensation in the new law nominally aimed against Wall Street and for consumers. The 848-page statute also named for its sponsors, Senator Dodd and Representative Frank, makes public companies put neutral committees at the pay-setting helm, lets shareholders cast precatory votes on the results, and shines a potentially embarrassing spotlight on prevailing pay realities and ratios. It puts a heavy hand on big bank pay setting. Those Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 5:26 pm

As the end of August approaches, I've been thinking about what schools should do to support those who are about to begin their first years as law professors. I'm hoping readers will share any useful measures their schools take to help ensure success. I'm not soliciting ideas about large scale institutional measures such as pre-tenure leave or yearly performance reviews, valuable as these might be. Instead I'm interested in more discrete steps that schools can take during the first and second years of an Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 10:23 am

It's amazing how big an empire you can construct out of plastic flowers. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:43 am

In a deal announced Tuesday, Hess Corporation said it will acquire American Oil & Gas Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $445 million. Once finalized, the acquisition will boost Hess's holdings in North Dakota's Bakken oil play by approximately 85,000 acres. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:34 am

The corporate partner steered his longtime client AmeriCredit, a subprime auto lender, in its $3.8 billion sale to General Motors. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:00 am

No apology offered to the victims' families Melbert Ray Ford Jr. took his last breath on June 9 at 7:27 p.m., more than 24 years after the last breaths of those he murdered. He ate most of his last meal and declined a sedative as well as a prayer request from the prison chaplin at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. His last words were not ones of remorse for his crimes but thanks to his family, friends and loved ones. According to records from the Newton County Superior Court, Posted on Friday, July 2, 2010 at 6:16 pm

By SHAILA DEWAN In late April in a courthouse in Madison County, Ala., a prosecutor was asked to explain why he had struck 11 of 14 black potential jurors in a capital murder case. The district attorney, Robert Broussard, said one had seemed "arrogant" and "pretty vocal." In another woman, he said he "detected hostility." Mr. Broussard also questioned the "sophistication" of a former Army sergeant, a forklift operator with three years of college, a cafeteria manager, an assembly-line worker and a retired Posted on Friday, July 2, 2010 at 6:15 pm

By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau Published: 6/2/2010 2:21 AM Last Modified: 6/2/2010 4:28 AM OKLAHOMA CITY - A bill sent to Gov. Brad Henry's desk would give the Oklahoma Department of Corrections more flexibility in carrying out executions. House Bill 2266 also would put restrictions on whom the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System could represent. Current state law directs the Department of Corrections to use "an ultra-short acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent." The new Posted on Friday, July 2, 2010 at 6:12 pm

Written By: FindLaw A FindLaw Blog post For years patients at Veterans Affairs hospitals have been forced to deal with the ambiguity of medical marijuana laws in relation to their treatment. But under a new directive issued by the Veterans Affairs Department, patients treated at VA hospitals and clinics will be allowed to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal, currently 14 states. For years Veterans have been concerned that if they use medical marijuana, they may be denied other pain Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 4:03 pm

Written By: FindLaw A FindLaw Blog post This week CitiGroup issued a report warning users of their iPhone app that security loopholes allowed their data to be stolen by third parties. The iPhone app, iTunes 11th most popular app contained a security flaw that stored data to a remote file on the smartphones internal memory. Citigroup noticed this flaw and notified customers about a week ago. By exploiting the flaw, hackers could access person information including security codes, account information, Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Written By: FindLaw A FindLaw Blog post More than 70,000 children are sent to the ER each year for injuries relating to medical devices. While this may not sound like something most people should be concerned with, please note the most common medical device causing injury to kids: the contact lens. Nearly one fourth of the problems caused by the lenses were often preventable health issues such as infections and eye abrasions. But according to a report by the Associated Press, other problems were also Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 4:12 pm

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol Michael D. Diathesopoulos, University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law, University of Glasgow - School of Law, University of Leicester - Faculty of Law, Lancaster University - Law School explores European Competition Law & Control... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:45 am

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol John M. Connor, Purdue University - Applied Econ suggests that About Cartel Overcharges: Kroes is Correct. ABSTRACT: An article by Ehmer and Rosati (ER) in expresses dissatisfaction with a view expressed in a speech by... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:00 am

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol S. P. Kamerbeek, University of Utrecht - Faculty of Law explains Merger Performance and Efficiencies in Horizontal Merger Policy in the US and the EU. ABSTRACT: In current horizontal merger policy in the US and... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:00 am

The police kept defendants from their house and home office while they procured a search warrant, 33 hours later. The officer getting the search warrant was not told to hurry it up. On defendant was an insulin-dependent diabetic, and officers would not permit him access to get it. The search and detention of the wife for the duration was unreasonable. United States v. Song Ja Cha, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129278 (D. Guam February 19, 2009): Applying the third factor to Mrs. Cha, the court notes that she was Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:12 am

The search of defendant's car for a weapon was not just justified by any articulable facts. Lewis v. State, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1366 (July 27, 2010).* Dog sniff of the air from outside a car did not violate the state constitutional protection of "private affairs." State v. Hartzell, 2010 Wash. App. LEXIS 1534 (July 19, 2010).* The officer received a report of a potential drunk driver in defendant's car. The officer was free to approach defendant's garage to attempt to talk to him, and defendant's admission Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 4:41 am

Violation of constitutional no-knock requirement by SWAT team deciding on its own to enter without knocking without sufficient legal justification required suppression of the search under the Indiana Constitution. Lacey v. State, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1367 (July 27, 2010): Here, no circumstances bearing upon officer safety or escape arose after the issuance of the warrant and before its execution. There has been no allegation of furtive movement, attempted flight, or destruction of evidence. Under the Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:55 am

Except when they are [Sullum, Reason] Why the DISCLOSE Act failed [Samples, Cato, earlier here, here] Tags: Barack Obama, campaign regulation Related posts Yes, I'm being facetious (16) State of the Union: Lip-reading Justice Alito (21) Microblog 2008-10-22 (0) Election-season YouTube takedowns (4) "Change They Can Litigate" (14) Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:30 pm

If law firms were asked to pay for all the emotional distress they inflict, there might never be an end to it. [ABA Journal] Tags: emotional distress, lawyers Related posts Woman awarded $45,000 after dog kills cat (1) When jurors tell lawyer jokes (0) We were counting on you for favorable testimony! (2) Upset at photo, sues high school yearbook editors (4) Update: not the date they expected (0) Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:33 am

"Southern California coach Lane Kiffin says he was surprised by the lawsuit filed against him and USC by the Tennessee Titans after he hired away one of the NFL team's assistant coaches." [AP, more, via Miller] Tags: colleges and universities, football Related posts August 17 roundup (4) Will litigation kill academic tenure? (3) UT hassling Longhorn users (0) Update: Kindle not helpful enough to blind users (7) University of Michigan dental student $1.7 million award (16) Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 4:57 am

Here. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:43 am

This is really quite amazing. But given Ned Block's devastating critique, it probably doesn't much matter. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 4:23 am

Story here. (Thanks to Reza Rad for the pointer.) Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 12:22 pm

We've seen it coming for quite some time: Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), the former head of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, has been hit with 13 ethics violations, including those stemming from tax issues. Stay tuned for more info.Similar Posts: Oops, He Did It Again: More Rangel Tax Blips Rangel Refuses to Give Up Chair Despite Tax Probe Rangel We Have Heard on High The Mother of All Tax Bills Legislation Introduced to Tax Bonuses at 90% Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:54 am

The star of "Rush Hour" (and its lucrative sequels), Chris Tucker, has made headlines for something other than acting these days. According to TMZ, the actor was slapped with liens from IRS for more than $11.5 million in unpaid federal taxes. That total represents liabilities for the years 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Tucker was liened $3.5 million by the state of California for unpaid taxes over the same time frame. Most of the IRS liabilities are linked to the tax years 2001 and 2002; 2001 was the Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 1:34 pm

I can't believe that folks are already talking about back to school… With all of the snow this year, I feel like my kids just got out of school! But my niece is reporting that she's starting next week (early, I know) and my inbox is filled with emails from Lands End reminding me to buy school uniforms. I'm getting the feeling that back to school is coming whether we all like it or not. A number of back to school-related tax pieces have also hit the blogosphere in recent days. Here's a quick rundown of some Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:05 am

Funding: The Senate has also passed the PTO funding bill (H.R. 5874) that restores $129 million of fee-collected income to the PTO. The bill specifically provides "For an additional amount for `Salaries and Expenses' of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, $129,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That the sum herein appropriated from the general fund shall be reduced as offsetting collections assessed and collected pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1113 and 35 U.S.C. 41 and 376 are Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:02 am

Congratulations: The Administration (and its supporters) have successfully lobbied the House of Representatives to allow the PTO to keep $129 million of its funds collected over-budget. Because the CBO had already accounted for that money as general income, the return of the money required a debit from some other expenditure. The source ended up being money that had been over-budgeted for the Census. See H.r. 5874. To become law, the bill would also need to pass the Senate. However, at this time, no Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 9:44 am

In a prior post, I wrote about the rising number of requests for continued examination (RCEs) based on preliminary 2009-2010 numbers. The charts below provides updated figures through June 2010 and is based on data provided by the USPTO. The primary difference between these figures and those presented in my prior post is that the prior post under-estimated FY2009 figures. Although the number of RCE filings continues to rise, this new data indicates that the growth-rate has slowed. Patent Commissioner Bob Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 10:22 pm

Rick Norsigian, a 64-year-old Fresno resident, announced on Tuesday that 60 glass negatives he purchased at a garage sale nearly a decade ago are early works of photographer Ansel Adams. An appraiser has valued the negatives at nearly $200 million. But the announcement has drawn fire from both the man who oversees the Adams trust and Adams' grandson. William Turnage, the managing trustee of Adams' trust, called Norsigian and those working with him "a bunch of crooks" who "are pulling a big con job." Turnage Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:32 am

Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP, has announced that Greg McClintock has become an Of Counsel member of the Firm. Mr. McClintock has more than 35 years of experience in the field of environmental law, much of it related to issues impacting the energy, aerospace and waste management industries. Among other accomplishments, Mr. McClintock played a leading role in negotiating the consent decrees that govern private sector clean-up obligations at many of the major federal Superfund sites Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:03 am

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has announced the addition of three partners to the firm's Labor and Employment practice group. Thomas R. Kaufman, Michael L. Gallion and Gregg A. Fisch. Kaufman, Gallion and Fisch join Sheppard Mullin's Los Angeles/Century City office from Seyfarth Shaw in Los Angeles, where Kaufman was co-chair of Seyfarth's national wage/hour class action practice group. Kaufman is a wage/hour specialist and has handled more than eighty class actions for a wide variety of Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 8:24 am

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, Wall Street insiders who become whistleblowers may be eligible to receive 10 - 30% of the money that the government gets back. According to National Whistleblowers Center executive director Stephen Kohn, the prospect of collecting millions could provide potential tipsters with the incentive to act, while saving investors billions. Under the new law, whistleblowers that provide the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission with Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:40 pm

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel is ordering Raymond James & Associates Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services Inc. to buy back $2.5M in auction-rate securities from an investor. Greg Merdinger has accused Raymond James Financial Inc. of failing to warn him about the risks associated with ARS. In 2009, he filed a claim accusing the broker-dealer of breach of both contract and fiduciary duty. Merdinger claims that from October 2006 to February 2008, Raymond James & Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 6:49 pm

A district court has granted in part the motion for class certification in the securities fraud lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. involving an alleged investment scam with Sterling Foster & Co. The alleged scheme involves the manipulation of the the market for ML Direct Inc. securities during and after an IPO. The JPM entities are named in their capacity as Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. and Bear Stearns Securities Corp. successors. The court says that one day after Posted on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 6:13 pm

Well, they did it. After months of high tension -- 26 of them, in fact -- the Supreme Court of California at last ruled this week on whether cities, counties, villages, water districts, wide spots in the road, and other public entities may hire private lawyers to represent them in public nuisance cases on a contingent fee basis. Yes. Yes, they can. County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, No. 163681 (Cal. July 26, 2010). Sometimes. It depends on the type of nuisance case. If it aims to shut down a dirty Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:47 pm

One of Blawgletter's favorites, Infamy or Praise, goes into Some Detail about recent hits the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has taken at the hands of the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Copyright Office. Round Tuit riffs on lots of other cool stuff, too -- liberal bias in our law schools, nuttiness over mentoring, and the art of judicial insults. Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 3:18 pm

No one's going to say he's the sharpest knife in the drawer. Sam Adam, Jr., arguing to the jury in United States v. Rod Blagojevich. Alternative phrasings: Not the brightest light on the porch. One beer short of a six-pack. Two bricks shy of a load. A few fries short of a Happy Meal. One twist short of a slinky. The gates are down, and the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming. Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 2:16 pm

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered the disbarment of an attorney whose bar discipline started with a public censure. In Pennsylvania, the attorney must personally appear to be censured. When the attorney failed to appear, a second proceeding was brought... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:02 am

A judge may properly conduct a seminar on the "do's and dont's" of practice, according to a recent opinion of the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. The committee recited the facts set forth in the request for the opinion: The... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:14 am

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw Several years ago, I published a little essay about making the leap into tenure-track legal academia well after the time in which most long-standing faculty members would have expected one's theoretical and scholarly synapses to have... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:52 am

When Apple introduced its iPhone into a smartphone market where it had 0% market share, it cut a deal with AT&T Mobility to make it the exclusive provider of cell phone service. In exchange, ATTM subsidized the price of every iPhone by $450, thus ensuring that more consumers would be able to purchase iPhones, and introducing additional competition into the smartphone market. Nonetheless, trial lawyers sued, bringing a class action alleging that this basic business arrangement violated the antitrust laws Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:57 am

A tiny percentage of Volkswagen and Audi sunroofs will leak into the vehicle unless care is taken to keep the plenum clear of debris; a class action was brought over this. Let's assume for the moment that plaintiffs are correct that this is something that Volkswagen is liable for, and that there are contractual remedies for VW not foolproofing the cars against this problem. What's remarkable is how the parties settled the case in such a way so that wildly inefficient remedies would maximize attorneys' fees Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:57 am

The Class Action Fairness Act created 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d), a new category of federal diversity jurisdiction for class actions that exceeded $5 million in value. The Eleventh Circuit just issued an opinion proclaiming that CAFA jurisdiction only exists when the § 1332(a) requirement of more than $75,000 in controversy applies to at least one class plaintiff. This extraordinarily tendentious reading of the statute contradicts every other circuit to examine the issue-including the Eleventh. [Trask; Andrews @ Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 2:59 am

This week the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (the intermediate appellate court) issued two new opinions on warning causation in the context of the learned intermediary rule. Cochran v. Wyeth, Inc., ___ A.2d ___, No. 2838 EDA 2008, slip op. (Pa. Super. July 27, 2010), and Owens v. Wyeth, No. 185 EDA 2009, slip op. (Pa. Super. July 26, 2010) (memorandum). Both of these cases arise from the few remaining fen-phen cases in Philadelphia County, which involve primary pulmonary hypertension as the claimed injury. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:00 am

We told you last month that the Sixth Circuit had asked the FDA for its views of preemption in the generic drug context. The FDA's brief was due today, and we were all geared up to read it. Alas, we must gear down. The Department of Justice filed a letter today with the Sixth Circuit that says: The Supreme Court has invited the Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the United States on whether that Court should grant certiorari to review the Eighth Circuit's resolution of the preemption Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 2:10 pm

Yesterday we regaled you with the first half of the decision in Cornett v. Johnson & Johnson, ___ A.2d ___, 2010 WL 2867811 (N.J. Super. A.D. July 23, 2010), concerning the court's decision to apply the law of the plaintiff's residence to the statute of limitations in a prescription drug case. We explained how that was a big deal, given the number of out-of-state plaintiffs who have flocked to New Jersey in recent years to take advantage of the state's reputation for liberality in tort matters - a Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:00 am

Attorneys for insurance carriers are rarely the subject of a legal malpractice case...it is much more often plaintiff's attorney. The Poppe law firm blog reports this case of a car insurance defense attorney who goes to trial on the underlying auto accident without ever meeting with the client, and to make matters worse, admits liability without the client's consent. While the Poppe blog does not set forth the full facts, it's my guess that there was a verdict in excess of the policy, and that the resulting Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:46 am

The rules for attorney billing are different from those of any other profession. While the general principals are the same, attorneys are required to utilize retainer agreements, or a similar document, while this is not true for accountants, dentists, etc. There are consequences for the failure to use a retainer agreement, but Courts, especially the Second Department have permitted vast exceptions. How does one understand the various factors? One way is to read Constantine Cannon LLP v. Parnes, 2010 Slip Op Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:45 am

Patriot Exploration, LLC v Thompson & Knight LLP ; 2010 NY Slip Op 06217 ; Decided on July 27, 2010 ; appellate Division, First Department presents a discussion of forum non conveniens as well as the question of why this is a NY case? Defendants wanted the case to be moved to Texas, notwithstanding the 2 year statute of limitations. Plaintiff is represented by a Massachusetts attorney admitted pro haec vice. "In this legal malpractice action, the motion court did not abuse its discretion in declining Posted on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 3:27 am

Two Canadian professors have contributed some provocative scholarship on sexual assault law recently. Janine Benedet, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, has published The Sexual Assault of Intoxicated Women , forthcoming in the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. Here is the abstract. This article considers how the criminal law of sexual assault in Canada deals with cases of women who have been consuming intoxicants (e.g. alcohol and or drugs). In particular, it considers under what Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:12 am

Janell Hobson writes here at the Ms. Magazine blog about the attacks on and defenses of Shirley Sherrod. Hobson writes that the "conversations unfolded the way they did because a black woman was at the center." Hobson aptly critiques both the right and the left: We black women become easy targets of attack for two reasons: 1) Those who initiate the attacks-the Andrew Breitbarts of this world-feel they have social and cultural "permission" to do so. 2) Those who respond to these attacks by adding their own Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Work has long been an issue for feminist legal scholars, but in a new article just posted on ssrn here, Professor Shirley Lung argues that we need to refocus. Lung is addressing the new "family/work" policies often adopted by employers as a reaction to the economic recession and the proverbial wisdom that such policies are feminist and family-friendly. She writes: which workers are the most likely beneficiaries of reduced or compressed work weeks? Which workers are the least likely beneficiaries? A growing Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 2:53 pm

The American Academy in Berlin invites applications for its residential fellowships for the 2011-2012 as well as future academic years. The application deadline is October 1, 2010. Applications can be submitted online through the Academy's website.The Academy welcomes emerging as well as established scholars, writers, and professionals who wish to engage in independent study in Berlin. Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:02 am

Peggy Ann Pascoe (obituary from mtstandard.com) Peggy Ann Pascoe, 55, of Eugene, Ore., died Friday, July 23, 2010, of ovarian cancer. She was born on Oct. 18, 1954, in Butte to Jane and Frederick Arthur Pascoe Jr. She graduated from Butte High School in 1972. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from Montana State Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 1:43 pm

Fractional Freedoms: Slavery, Legal Activism and Ecclesiastical Courts in Colonial Lima, 1593-1689 has just been posted by Michelle McKinley, University of Oregon - School of Law. It appears in the Law and History Review (August 2010). Here's the abstract:This article examines the ways in which enslaved litigants engaged with the ecclesiastical courts in 17th century colonial Lima. The article Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 9:15 am

While the parties have not formally disclosed it, the immediate ACTA schedule now appears to include discussions between the U.S. and the EU next month in Washington followed by a full round of talks (Round Ten) in Japan in September. Some have criticized the exclusion of the remaining ACTA countries in the August discussions, but as I posted earlier, the ACTA text has really come down to a U.S. vs. EU document with the remaining countries picking a side. The sticking point in Washington will undoubtedly Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:01 am

In just over one year, Canada is scheduled to complete the digital television transition, as stations switch from analog to digital broadcasts. While cable and satellite subscribers will not notice the change, over one million Canadians that rely on over-the-air signals will be affected. Despite the experience in other countries that left many consumers without digital converter boxes staring at blank screens, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the Canadian Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 1:54 am

Civil society groups have written to the European Commission warning about the impact of ACTA on access to medicines. The letter cites numerous concerns based on the July leaked text. The next meeting will be a private meeting in August between the EU and the US as they attempt to sort out their differences on the scope of the treaty. The next round is scheduled for September in Japan. Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 1:45 am

Yes, it's true. After more than six years of blogging on Ideoblog I've decided to take my act on the road, to Truth on the Market. As I explain in my first post there, I expect that this move will not only unite me with a great group of market-oriented commentators, but also expand my reach. I plan to continue all of the discussions I've had for the last six years at Ideoblog. So this is not an end -- just a change of address. See you over at Truth on the Market. Posted on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 8:05 am

The WSJ has a story about a singer-songwriter who performs his big conservative hit song under a pseudonym with his face obscured by big shades and a Coors cap. His problem: he's also a Hollywood screenwriter. "His dilemma is the dilemma of countless people in my life," says Andrew Breitbart, the conservative columnist and provocateur who runs a website, Big Hollywood, devoted to airing conservative grievances about Los Angeles. "You can survive here as a conservative, but it takes guile." One person Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 5:38 am

Leiter's scholarly impact ranking in Corporate Law/Securities Regulation (Steve Bainbridge describes what it means). I offer it for what it's worth, as is, except for the bolding of one name. Rank Name School Total Articles Citing Name Age in 2010 1 John Coffee Columbia University 1500 66 2 Lucian Bebchuk Harvard University 1060 55 3 Larry Ribstein University of Illinois 960 64 4 Stephen Bainbridge University of California, Los Angeles 850 52 5 Roberta Romano Yale University 780 58 6 Ronald J. Gilson Posted on Monday, May 17, 2010 at 6:34 pm

We're blogging again. But that's not the great news. This is: wages are finally on the rise again. Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Though we haven't had time to keep up with them over the last few months, wage and hour cases remain a hot topic of discussion. Check out today's feature on Law.com: "Holidays Bring Out The Workers Suing Over Unpaid Wages." Tis the season for overtime litigation, as new lawsuits, settlements and pro-employee rulings pile up under the tree. In back-to-back rulings last week, federal judges gave early holiday gifts to class action plaintiffs who argue that getting ready for work should be compensated for. In Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 9:58 am

Another misclassified independent contractor overtime case has settled for millions. UPS Supply Chain Solutions has agreed to pay $12.8 million to settle an overtime class action. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has given preliminary approval to the deal, involving approximately 660 workers in the two subclasses - one national, the other limited to California workers only. The case was mediated by retired Alameda County Superior Court judge Ronald Sabraw. The final fairness hearing will take place on Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 10:00 am

Today's posts to Election Blackout, my group blog covering the 2010 federal election campaign: This election is close: Nielsen currently 52-48 to Coalition http://post.ly/pRrx Was I the ONLY person thinking ... ? http://post.ly/pRiP Limit the Pokies Group: how do you solve a problem like the pokies? http://post.ly/pRbe Full lists of 2010 federal election candidates are now available on the AEC website http://bit.ly/apQug5 #ausvotes 1198 candidates to contest the 2010 federal election http://post.ly/pR4h The Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:36 am

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today: techdirt on "Connecting With Fans... In The Porn Industry?" http://j.mp/bh83gF my qut colleague john pyke is on the ballot for the senate in queensland http://bit.ly/bcFXKS #ausvotes if you are voting below the line for the senate in queensland, you better be able to count to 60 http://post.ly/pR4h #ausvotes us supreme court looking at whether prisoners have a right to vote ... "Voting Behind Bars" http://j.mp/bxp7uF i'm looking forward to Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:02 am

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today: more good news from telstra ... "Telstra offers 12 month contracts for iPhone 4" http://j.mp/929sLg "28 of The Best Fictional Characters On Twitter" http://j.mp/90fP6H /via @cameroncollie "Agendas and bias on the media trail" from the perspective of @jonaholmesMW http://j.mp/degNhn Nine is reporting a Galaxy poll with the two-party vote at 50-50, from primary votes of 37% Labor, 43% Coalition and 13% Greens #ausvotes at his election blog Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:21 am

From Reuters: But in the same news conference, Kirk also made clear his dislike for WTO litigation, which can take years to resolve and often produce mixed results. "My guiding principle is that where we can get issues resolved through direct negotiations, no matter how difficult they are, we're so much better served than saying 'I'm going to go to the WTO and file a case'," Kirk said. "Because part of my concern was the number of matters we have with trade partners that have been at the WTO five years, 10 Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:37 am

From a speech today by USTR Ron Kirk: So today I am announcing that the Obama Administration will file a case against Guatemala under our trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic, for apparent violations of obligations on labor rights. This is the first labor case the United States has ever brought against a trade agreement partner. With this case, we are sending a strong message that our trading partners must protect their own workers, that the Obama Administration will not tolerate Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:25 am

In Foreign Affairs, this is from Betsy Gelb and Emmanuel Yujuico (of IPE Zone): Another example of a failed effort to apply a largely American vision of technology to a non-U.S. cultural environment involves the Internet search giant Google. In January, after the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists were reportedly hacked, Google's co-founder, Sergey Brin, implied that the Chinese government was culpable for the attacks. To position Google as a pioneer for free communication, he called on Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:04 pm

By Charles R. Macedo* On July 27, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") published for notice and comment Interim Guidelines for Determining Subject Matter Eligibility for Process Claims, 75 Fed. Reg. 43922 (July 27, 2010), in view of the Supreme Court's decision in Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S. Ct. 3218 (2010). The comment deadline has been set for September 27, 2010. Any comments should be submitted to Bilski-Guidance@uspto.gov or by mail or fax to (571) 273-0125. Under the proposed Guidelines, the Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:10 am

Gene Quinn, President & Founder of IPWatchdog, posted on July 29, 2010 the first of a three part series. An excerpt from the post: On July 19, 2010, I was granted a back stage pass of sorts, for a behind-the-scenes look at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. I had initially requested an interview with Director David Kappos and was given an affirmative response, but then I floated the idea of a three-part series to commemorate the first anniversary of David Kappos leaving the private sector to Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8:36 am

According to a Uniloc spokesperson, "in 1992 software companies were losing billions to casual software copying. Uniloc was the first to combine the concept of product key and hardware ID, and using both they created an airtight registration system. For the first time, Uniloc's invention locked software to a specific computer, making...casual copying next to impossible. After patenting the invention in the early 90s, Uniloc commercialized the product through a licensing deal with IBM, and then began talks Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:39 am

David L. Schwartz, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Lee Petherbridge, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, have published The Use of Legal Scholarship by the Federal Courts of Appeals: An Empirical Study. Here is the abstract. Chief Justice Roberts recently explained... Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:24 am

Congress outlawed Internet gaming four years ago. Now some members of that body are thinking that activity might be a good source of revenue, if it were legal and taxable. Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:25 pm

Shirley Sherrod, the USDA official forced to step down after her boss at the agency and the White House both reacted prematurely over a video clip posted by blogger Andrew Breitbart, now says she will sue Mr. Breitbart over the... Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:22 pm

Funny! Brought to my attention through Andrew V, thanks! Posted on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 5:28 am

As many of you know, I transferred law schools after my 1L year. Many law students consider transferring after their 1L year, generally to move to a higher ranked school. I transferred because I was marrying someone out of state (and dropping a little in the law school rankings), so I didn't have the same academic pressure. Unfortunately, that transfer process did not go smoothly for me. Thankfully, a LoaLS listener has written a comprehensive guide on transferring, appropriately entitled The Art of the Law Posted on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Among other things, I am Firearms Instructor. When I tell people this, it's usually a 50/50 split as to whether their eyes are filled with fear or interest. Minds have been conditioned by the media and social biases that "Guns are bad." When I counsel students at the college where I work who are starting their education in legal studies, I ask them a few questions (this works a bit better during an election year): 1) Do you think guns should be banned? 2) The guy who held the sign "You're a Liar" in the Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 7:32 am